Call of Duty: Next Gen Wishlist [Editorial]

Rumors have leaked that the next Call of Duty game from Activision is going to be breaking away from the tradition of the series. Instead of Modern Warfare 4, the latest rumors say that we will be getting Call of Duty: Ghosts, courtesy of Infinity Ward and whoever else Activision has working on the game. A few details have leaked about the game, but that’s not stopping us from compiling a wishlist anyway.

According to the rumors, Call of Duty: Ghosts will feature interactive loading screens, allow for more maneuverability such as sliding and dashing, plus peeking around corners and rolling while prone. The game will apparently be set in the future, featuring futuristic weaponry as well as weapon’s from the past. The game will apparently feature destructible environments and a new mode replacing Spec Ops.

All that being said, here’s what we want out of the next-generation Call of Duty game!

1. Spec OpsYes, I know the latest rumors say Spec Ops is being replaced, but that seems unnecessary. The Call of Duty games tend to ditch modes with each installment instead of improving or refining on them. Next-gen Call of Duty needs to buck that trend completely, with Spec Ops returning in full force. Spec Ops has always been a lot of fun, whether it’s the Survival Mode or the missions, and I know a lot of fans, including the one writing this article, will be sad to see it go.

2. Nonlinear CampaignBlack Ops II started taking a couple of steps in the right direction by introducing a nonlinear story to the series, but I want a nonlinear campaign in the style of the older Call of Duty games, like Call of Duty 2. I maintain that Call of Duty 2 has the best campaign in the franchise from a gameplay standpoint, and there’s a reason for that. It gave players a wide open battlefield to fight in, and did its best to come across as a real war.

Next-generation Call of Duty needs to get rid of the awful “Follow me” garbage that has been permeating in the franchise and plagued the campaign of Modern Warfare 3 especially. Video games in general need to abandon this mechanic, as it robs the medium of its magic and replaces it with boring linearity. Why not just make a movie?

3. ZombiesI know Zombies is usually reserved for Treyarch…but why? Why does this have to be the case? Like I mentioned earlier, the practice of Call of Duty games abandoning features and modes that made their predecessors popular makes the franchise constantly feel like it’s taking two steps forward and one step back. Zombies remains one of the most popular modes in Call of Duty history, and Activision would be foolish to usher in next-generation without their undead buddies at their side.

4. Maps with PERSONALITY
I can’t stress this enough. Modern Warfare 3′s maps were terrible and boring, to the point that they started adding good maps from the past for free like Terminal. Black Ops II’s maps were much better, with such memorable maps as Hijacked being featured front and center, and hopefully this next-generation Call of Duty offers maps that we can remember for years to come.

We need more maps like this in Call of Duty

I really don’t understand what happened with Modern Warfare 3. Modern Warfare 2 had awesome maps like Estate and Rust, but ask someone to name a good map from Modern Warfare 3, and I bet they will just give you a blank stare. It can be safely assumed that “Infinity Ward” is working on this new game, and if they pull the same nonsense that they did with Modern Warfare 3, it will be a travesty indeed.

5. Keep the multiplayerPeople complain Call of Duty “never changes” every year. But hey, if ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’m not a fan of the annual release schedule either, but with the rest of the next-generation gaming systems just over the horizon, there’s actually a pretty good excuse for an annual release this time around. Call of Duty on PS4 and Xbox 720 is going to be awesome, and hopefully the multiplayer that made the franchise so popular to begin with is kept intact.

Of course, new Killstreaks and guns and new multiplayer modes would all be nice, but I’m talking about keeping the core experience the same. The improvements to the franchise need to happen in regards to the single player. The multiplayer, as it stands, is virtually perfect. We just need a few tweaks here and there, and the PS4 and 720 should be able to kick off with quite a bang.

EA’s planning on pulling back the curtain on Battlefield 4 in just a few short days, so expect Activision to plan a reveal of Modern Warfare 4 or Ghost or whatever it’s called sooner rather than later. You can be sure that Cheat Masters will be there for the latest coverage on what is sure to be 2013′s most highly anticipated game. In the meantime, what do you want from the next-generation Call of Duty?